The Last of Us: The Last Prototype
by AssassinPoma
Summary: For almost 25 years, The last Evolved, Michael Diego, has been on the run across the country, going from Quarantine Zone to Quarantine Zone, never staying in one place for more then a couple of months at most, but when he runs into Joel and Ellie on their quest to the Fireflies, he discovers there is more to life then he originally thought. Rated M for blood/gore, cussing, etc.
1. Chapter 1

The city was quiet.

That wasn't anything new, Boston was almost always quiet nowadays, the only disturbance to the silence was the occasional Clicker pack or fight between FEDRA and the Fireflies. He hadn't been in Boston for long (A month to be honest), last time it was Atlanta (4 months), and before that, Chicago (10 days) he moved to Boston because of rumors indicating that FEDRA was getting too tight, which was causing the Fireflies to be more active. That meant more fighting, and Michael loved watching people tear each other new assholes, Fireflies and FEDRA alike.

Michael chuckled, a rare event in that time. FEDRA, what a bunch of moronic assholes, Blackwatch made them look like a swoop gang back in the day. Shit, thinking like that made him feel old. He was 40, but the Blacklight or "Mercer" Virus kept him from aging. He still looked like a teenager. It had been 25 years since he had been infected, 25 long years, time passed by at a snails pace for Michael sometimes, a day could feel like a year, and a year can feel like a decade, it really depended on how bored he got.

He shuddered from atop the Skyscraper. Boredom. His worst enemy, Blackwatch and FEDRA be damned, was boredom. It drove him to the literal brink of insanity on occasion to the point where he would do anything to amuse himself, hell, he once disguised himself as a Firefly soldier for two months just so he could have some fun killing FEDRA. But then it got boring and his disguise was tragically eaten alive by a pack of clickers, or so they thought. In reality he simply faked being dead to convince them.

It worked, seeing as how he did not even need to breathe to stay alive, again, thanks to the Mercer Virus.

But now he was bored all over again, and when Michael Diego is bored, heads roll. As he was crouched on the edge of the building, he looked around the city from his high perch, to his left was the Quarantine Zone, who had gained the cognitive ability to learn not to fuck with him a long time ago, once upon a time they sent patrols and APC's after him around Boston.

17 Dead patrols and 20 destroyed APC's later, they stopped sending people to try and capture and/or kill him. It's amazing how killing people gains you privacy & respect.

He stood up as he heard thunder in the distance. It would storm soon, he would have to get to lower ground, he got struck by lightning six years back. He lived, but he had no intention of going through _that_ again.

He took a single step forward, and began to plummet nearly 400 feet to the ground, as he landed it cracked the asphalt and sent some of it flying around him, making a noise that every Clicker within 3 miles worth it's beans could have heard, and he took off into a sprint towards the Quarantine Zone at speeds that no human should be able to accomplish.

But Michael Diego was not human. Not anymore. He was the last trace of the 2008 infection, the remnant of Mercer's legacy, the sole survivor of the evolved.

He was the last Prototype.


	2. Chapter 2

When he reached the underpass leading to the Quarantine Zone, it was pouring rain, and the lightning and thunder was getting more frequent and violent by the minute. Several underpasses were already starting to flood, turning them into bodies of water.

Water & Michael did _not_ mix. Point, blank, period.

He looked around to determine on another, less wet, path. He saw a street lamp about 100 yards away, maybe...

Michaels right arm shifted, tendrils of red biomass changing into another form. Michael threw his right arm out and a long rope-like spiked tentacle shot out of where his hand was supposed to be and grabbed onto the neck of the street lamp. This was what he called the "Whipfist", and by God, it was useful. He then launched himself like a slingshot toward it by pulling and he flew through the air, using his viral grappling hook to reach the other side of the underpass, he landed on the other side with a roll and shifted his arm back to its normal shape.

Unfortunately, several runners & clickers noticed him and charged, in response his left arm shifted into the form of a massive blade as tall as he was and the first runner to reach him was sliced in half and consumed for good measure, then he spun and sliced apart another three. But then, a Clicker amongst them was able to grab him and bite into his neck and infect him.

Or, at least, it tried. Michael grabbed the clicker and slammed it onto the ground before stomping his foot into its head, killing it. He then willed for the wound on his neck to heal. He did not worry about the Cordyceps, he had been bitten numerous times over the years, and every time the Fungus could not sustain itself inside of his body and died off, this time was no different.

He looked up, daring for anything else to come at him. His only remaining challenger was another Clicker that was coming at him, he willed his hands to shift into the last weapon in his arsenal. His fingers morphed into 10 long, razor sharp and lethal "Claws" as he liked to call them, he then charged the Clicker and embedded his claws into it's chest then pushed up, almost slicing the infected in half. As the creature fell dead he smirked. Problem solved. His fingers and hands shifted back to normal.

Michael continued on toward the QZ, jumping over minor obstacles such as cars or concrete barriers. When he was less then 200 feet from the wall he scaled a 5 story building to get a better vantage point. From there he could see the spotlights, sniper towers, and guards along the wall, there were also some armored vehicles patrolling the perimeter around it, if he wanted to get inside, he would have to be smart and quiet, rather then loud and stupid, like the fireflies' methods.

Michael jumped off the building and pressed his feet against it to slow his fall as he went down, he landed with only a slight thud, he then snuck up behind a FEDRA soldier that was dumb enough to be separated from the rest of his unit, and the soldier payed for it by cellular deconstruction, to put it more simply, the man was consumed by Michael for his appearance, memories, and voice. Captain Harold Jones, 23, single, shift ended in 5 minutes, perfect.

Michael shifted his entire body to appear as the Soldier, and picked up the man's M16. He then began to approach the QZ's gate. As he approached the gate he was addressed by another soldier, the commander

"Just ending your shift, Captain?" The CO asked.

"Yes sir, commander." Michael replied in a perfect imitation of Harold Jones' voice.

"Get some shut-eye, Captain, you're up again in 6 hours, am I clear?" The bulked up man asked the disguised Michael.

"Sir, yes sir!" Michael replied. _The Military_, he thought, _what a bunch of psychotic, homicidal, demanding bastards._

As Michael went through the mandatory scans, he couldn't help but smirk beneath the helmet. They were only concerned about the Cordyceps, they never scanned for anything else. The Mercer virus had been "Eradicated" in 2010 after James Heller was cornered then killed in Times Square, or so they thought. He was in Trenton, New Jersey by the time that incident happened.

As he completed the scans and walked in he noticed that most people were inside their makeshift homes, trying to avoid the freezing rain. He didn't care whether anything was hot or cold, his body couldn't freeze to death nor could it catch heat stroke. He was pretty damn sure he was immortal in that sense

Suddenly, an alarm went off and a soldier rushed past him yelling "We've got stragglers outside the wall!"

What the fuck? What human would be dumb enough to leave a QZ? A smuggler maybe?

Michael decided to find out, when no one was looking, he shifted forms, jumped up, and glided over the wall, using the darkness of night to his advantage. He looked around carefully, using the lightning as a quick flashlight, when he saw those "Stragglers"

It looked like two women and a man, one of the women was smaller then the other, probably a child, they were all running in a trench, hiding from the FEDRA soldiers. Michael knew that any second they would be spotted, and decided to amuse himself by giving them a hand.

A FEDRA soldier almost exposed them before Michael cut off his head with his blade. Another soldier spotted Michael and yelled "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

And that was when shit hit the fan, and the fun began.

**A/N: The entire story will go with two Chapters under one characters POV, next there is Ellie, and after that, Joel, then we go back to Michael. Until the next Chapter! Adios! **


	3. Chapter 3

Ellie wasn't sure what to think.

The two people she was being smuggled by, Joel and Tess, let her live after finding out she was bitten. Or maybe they let her live because that had to get out of there before the Military caught them, they jumped down into a trench and ran for their lives.

As they were running she heard a soldier scream "WHAT THE FUCK?!" At the top of his lungs, before she heard a bloodcurdling scream of agony.

"LIGHT THAT THING THE FUCK UP!" She heard another man yell before a wave of gunfire began.

"What the fuck is going on up there?" She asked the adults, Joel and Tess had stopped moving and were listening to the supposed battle above them.

"I don't know, and I don't wanna know." Joel replied after an armored truck was seen moving into the fray, firing a large light machine gun at the unknown assailant of the patrol.

Tess nodded and said. "Agreed, lets keep moving-" but before she could finish, Ellie heard a metallic groaning noise and the exact same armored truck they saw only seconds ago sailed over their heads, as though it were thrown like a toy, it landed on the other side of the trench with an explosion so intense it shook the ground beneath them, and a second later Ellie could feel the heat of it.

"Holy shit!" She exclaimed, she was in complete awe at what she had just seen. _What could have thrown a fucking armored truck like that?_ She wondered.

"Move!" Joel barked. Ellie didn't need to be told twice, she ran like she had never ran before right behind them. As they ran Ellie heard someone yell "Full retreat! Full retreat!" followed by screaming, and a laugh. A cold, insane, humorless laugh that sent chills down her spine. It encouraged her to run faster. That laugh somehow promised death.

After an hour, they rested, they were in a building about 2 miles away from the trenches, Ellie was looking where the battle had taken place, several vehicles were still burning despite the rain, and every time lightning flashed, she could see dozens of mutilated bodies on the ground. _What the fuck was that thing?_ It wasn't human, she knew that much...

"Ellie." She heard someone say behind her, she jumped, then relaxed. Only Joel.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"We're moving out soon." He told her.

"Roger dodger." She said as she picked up her backpack. Suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye, it looked like a teenager around her age, a boy, in a black leather jacket and cargo jeans crouching on the window nearly twenty feet away from her, what was worse was that she could have sworn it was looking at her like she was a fucking _slab of meat_, when she turned her head to get a better look, the figure was gone.

Maybe it was just her imagination? She hoped so.

"Lets go!" Joel hissed, making her jump for the second time that day.

"Alright, alright!" She snapped as she slung her backpack onto her back.

She, Joel, and Tess left the 3rd floor of the building, moving towards the second floor.

Little did they know, they were being followed.

**A/N: I know these Chapters are short, but I really don't have a lot of time to write them in my day so I just write them down, freshen them up a little, and pump them right out. It's because of a busy schedule. Next Chapter I will try very hard to make longer and more eventful. Cheers.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Im so sorry for the delay, i was a fucking retard and accidentally deleted this chapter and had to rewrite the entire fucking thing from scratch, (Three Fuck yous for Apple and the IPhone 4! Hip hip! Fuck you! Hip hip! Fuck you! Hip hip! Fuck you!) so here you go, I'm so sorry.**

Ellie couldn't believe it. The fireflies that were supposed to meet them were all dead. And Tess was about to die, for her.

"We can't just leave her!" The redhead protested as Joel closed the door to the Lobby.

"Be quiet! Up the stairs!" Joel growled. What choice did she have but to comply? As they walked up the stairs they heard gunshots, and they stopped abruptly.

As they opened the door to the second floor they heard the soldiers report that Tess had taken out two of their men. "Shit, Tess!" Ellie whispered as she watched their companions blood spread around the body.

"Come on, this way." Joel whispered as he moved towards an office.

The next five minutes were spent with them avoiding FEDRA while trying to leave, after they reached a room where Joel Recovered a Hunting Rifle from a fireflies corpse, they heard footsteps approaching them followed by a shout. "THEY'RE IN HERE!"

Joel whipped around to kill the soldier. Only he never got the chance, for suddenly the window next to the soldier shattered and he was grabbed by some type of tentacle and thrown out of the building. Then a person came through.

Ellie gasped and the new arrival looked at her and did the same. He looked shocked.

He was the Teenage Boy she saw on the Window earlier! The jacket, the cargos, the shoes, only she had a clearer view of his personal features. He had blonde hair, white skin, and the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen.

She remembered when she was Eleven someone in the Boarding School had smuggled a 'Kaleidoscope' into the girls dorm and showed everyone else how it worked, the boy's eyes reminded her of the toy.

They were blue and green in a pattern similar to the Kaleidoscope, yet there was something inhuman about how vivid the colors were, almost as though they were glowing.

She watched as he regained his composure, but before he could utter a word more footsteps were heard approaching them, and she swore she heard a type of animalistic growl come out of the teenagers throat.

Then things got scary.

She watched as his arm shifted into a fucking BLADE and he charged toward the doorway, she heard the panicked shouts of the FEDRA soldiers and gunfire before she heard slicing sounds and the sounds of something wet going everywhere.

She had a horrible feeling that those wet sounds were Blood being spilled. Joel aimed his hunting rifle at the door and prepared to pull the trigger.

When the boy walked back through Joel pulled the trigger and the boys head exploded from the round, only to both the man and girls horror it began to do the impossible and reform. Just as his face took back its shape Joel tried to reload, only the teenagers arm shifted again and a type of spiked whip shot out, grabbed onto the rifle, and pulled it out of Joel's hands. He then gave both of them a glare so intense that Joel took a step back.

"Do. Not. Shoot. Me. In. The. Face. Again." He growled.

For the first time in short period Ellie knew Joel, the man looked terrified. The boy then dropped the Rifle and said. "That's better. It looks like your going on a suicide journey into the ass end of nowhere. If you're looking for The Fireflies, they have left Boston. FEDRA has them in full retreat."

"How do we know you ain't lyin'?" Joel asked as he pulled out his handgun and aimed it at the boy.

The boy sneered and replied. "You don't, but if you want to live I suggest you trust me. More soldiers are on their way."

Ellie then whispered to Joel. "I don't like him, but we could use him... Strength in numbers and all that..."

Joel didn't look happy, he stood there for nearly a minute unmoving, but then he slowly lowered the pistol and said. "Fine. How do we get out?"

"Follow me." The boy said before adding "My name is Michael, yours?"

"Joel, this is Ellie." The middle aged man gestured to the Girl.

"Well then, Ellie and Joel. Stay close and you might live to see tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

Joel was an expert on disturbing things.

He had survived for 20 years from the Cordyceps Brain Infection Outbreak, he had seen and done things that would make most peoples skin crawl, and he had watched people die in brutal ways.

But an Australian Teenager with the ability to shape-shift his limbs into claws, blades, and whips? That was new.

Said teenager tearing people apart with said weapons? Also new.

And then there was him grabbing a FEDRA soldiers pistol, then catapulting himself over the mans back while shooting 3 others dead. That blew Joel's mind.

Long story short, Joel realized that despite her inexperience and age, Ellie was right, Michael would be a useful Ally. The only issue was Joel didn't trust him. At all.

"FUUUUUUUCK!" The last soldier screamed as Michael threw him out the window.

"Well, that's FEDRA taken care of." Michael said as though he had just taken out the trash.

Joel couldn't make himself speak, Ellie looked as though she was about to be sick, while Michael kept a calm demeanor. It sickened them both.

"I know I'm a little strange. But it's rude to stare." Michael said.

"A little strange?!" Ellie snapped. She was horrified, Joel could tell. "What the fuck even are you?!"

Michael frowned, as though the question intrigued him. "You know what? I have absolutely no fucking idea, really." He chuckled before adding. "Am I a virus? Am I even a human anymore? Or am I just a human infected with said virus? I haven't the foggiest. I know that I can't be destroyed, not easily anyway. I know that I can consume people and take their memories, appearance, and even their voice, which gives me the ability to be anyone, anywhere, which is perfect for laying low. I know that I can lift and throw things nine times my mass and weight as though they were toys. I know I can shape-shift my limbs into weapons to use against anyone and anything. So tell me, Ellie, what do you think I am?"

After that speech, Ellie looked as though she were trying to swallow a mouse, primarily because Michael's left arm had shape-shifted into claws and he seemed to be using them to clean his nails. "I think your a fucking freak..." She said.

Joel thought she had just killed them both, but Michael just cackled. "You, BlackWatch and FEDRA all three, Ellie." He said, once he controlled himself.

Joel had never heard the second word he said. "BlackWatch?" He asked.

"Yes, BlackWatch, a military organization formed to stop the BlackLight Virus. The Virus that I either am the incarnation of or just infected with." Michael said.

"How come i ain't never heard of it before?" Joel asked.

"BlackLight was designed to be a biological weapon by a company called Gentek. Until, in 2008, a man named Alex Mercer smashed a sample in Penn Station, releasing it on Manhattan." Michael explained. "The infection killed millions, and turned them into mindless monsters, not unlike the infected nowadays. BlackWatch was top secret, the elite, they were assigned to wiping the infection out. And they succeeded. Until a year later."

Ellie and Joel had both listened with horror, yet also interest. The silence lingered until Ellie broke it "What happened a year later?"

"When Alex Mercer died, the virus entered his bloodstream, it infected him, changed him, _became_ him. He woke up in a morgue, with abilities much like mine. Over time he created an army of people like him, called Evolved." Michael looked both of them in the eye. "I was amongst them. Originally my name was Michael James Diego, I was an Australian Exchange Student for a boarding school in north Manhattan. I had a normal life before this hellhole. I had a girlfriend named Anna, a lot of friends, I couldn't ask for a better life. Then Mercer came along..." Michael growled. "He infected me, and told me my job was to keep an eye on the boarding schools science professor, because she was rumored to be working with BlackWatch." He continued. "After that, I became a wanted fugitive. I couldn't leave New York, and Anna was the only good part of my life at that point. Later on Mercer was killed by another Evolved called James Heller. Heller, after killing Mercer, wiped out the entire infection. He would have gotten me too. Only Anna had bribed a BlackWatch soldier to smuggle us to the jersey shore for a date. Anna & I saw the battle between Mercer and Heller from live television." Michael stopped talking.

Ellie and Joel were both silent.

"But enough about me, why are you here? Why risk everything to find the bloody Fireflies?" Michael continued.

"Because I'm immune." Ellie said. Michael laughed.

"Yeah, sure, and I had sex with a Clicker last night!" He replied, but he saw the look on Ellie's face and his face went slack. "You're not kidding... Show me..."

Joel was about to protest, but Ellie had already pushed up her sleeve, revealing the bite mark. Michael walked toward her and examined the bite, he appeared intrigued.

"40 years, I've lived for 40 years, and I still don't understand Humanities will to survive, to evolve, to stay alive." Michael said as he examined Ellie's arm.

"You've lived for how long?" Joel asked, he was certain he misheard.

"40 years, 6 months and 14 days." Michael replied.

"But you still look-" Joel said before Michael interrupted.

"Like a teenager? The BlackLight Virus doesn't allow me to age." He explained. He let go if Ellie's arm. "I have a request." He announced.

"And that is?" Joel inquired. He was very suspicious.

"Let me come with you. I have nothing better to do, Killing FEDRA's getting boring, besides, I've navigated this country for years, I could help guide you." Michael said.

Joel contemplated this. He didn't trust Michael, but Ellie had a point, there was strength in numbers, and with Michael they have the element of surprise, due to the Teenagers ability to be a weapon.

"Fine." He said. "Now, we're goin' to a friend of mine, he can get us a car."

Michael looked like he had just placed a bet on a Pitbull in a dog fight. He looked like he was anticipating seeing what would happen. Ellie rolled down her sleeve and said "Roger Dodger."

As Joel turned around he heard Ellie whisper to Michael. "So what was life like before the infection?" He sighed, it was going to be a long day.

He could feel it.

**A/N: I made this chapter to explain who Michael was, and give you guys an idea on why he has said Australian accent. To those of you who may have found out what I did with Michael that links him to what I linked him to, do me a favor and don't spoil it. Till next chapter! Farewell.**


	6. Chapter 6

Joel tended to the fire in front of him while Ellie rummaged through her backpack, taking out three cans of food, Michael was staring into the fire, leaning against a tree. They had stopped a few miles from the Boston exit on the highway to rest for the night. The sun had set nearly an hour ago.

"There, that oughta keep burning till dawn." Joel said as he placed a few more sticks onto the fire.

"Won't the fire and smoke attract something?" Ellie asked.

"Maybe, but I don't think that it'll be anything we can't handle." Joel replied.

"Agreed, no one in their right mind would fuck with the incarnation if the Mercer Virus." Michael told the two of them.

Joel nor Ellie replied. Since their journey had begun they had learned that Michael was indeed nearly invincible, they had even watched him get bit by three clickers, then throw all three out of the building they were in, while the areas he was bitten in healed. When Ellie had asked him why the fungus didn't work on him he replied. "I suppose the Cordyceps doesn't like BlackLight for supper.". With that, they dropped the subject.

Ellie eventually began having trouble opening the cans of food. "Ah man!" She complained.

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"I can't get these fucking cans opened!" The teenager replied as she reached for her switchblade.

"Don't, you'll ruin your only weapon. Give the can to me." Michael told her. Joel watched as Ellie handed Michael one of the cans. Michael's left hand shifted into claws, one of which he used as a can opener by cutting off the lid. "Here you go." He said handing her the open can.

"Wow, thanks..." Ellie said.

"No problem, I may be a Bioweapon, but I also can be a can opener!" Michael said with a small snicker.

Ellie laughed, Joel just smirked and shook his head. He noticed that Michael had opened two cans and left the third alone and had handed the third can to Ellie.

"Aren't you gonna eat too?" Joel asked.

"I don't need to. I don't need to eat, or drink, or piss, or shit, or sleep or even breathe. The only thing I need is fresh genetic material, and I can go without even that for weeks." Michael explained.

Joel nodded, in deep thought. What did he mean by 'Genetic Material'?

Ellie asked the same question. "what do you mean?"

"Well, when I consume people, their genetic material, or DNA, whatever you want to call it, heals me, feeds me, keeps me going." Michael said.

"So... When you kill people and absorb them, you heal? That's... Pretty awesome actually." Ellie said.

Michael smiled. "Thank you El-" Suddenly he was grabbed from behind as someone tried to slit his throat, but Michael appeared unhurt. Joel watched as Michael whipped around and impaled the person with the arm-blade. The person was stabbed clean through the chest, and after Michael had pulled his blade from the man, fell down dead.

"Well that was unexpected..." Michael said, his arm shifting back to normal.

"I doubt he was alone." Joel said as he grabbed his Rifle.

"Agreed. People travel in packs nowadays." Michael said as he looked around.

Joel suddenly heard a strange sound. It sounded like a _thunk_! But Michael immediately tensed up, turned his head to the left of them, and lifted his left arm, which was actively shifting into his blade with incredible speed. Just as the blade covered his face there was a large explosion that engulfed him, before the smoke and fire cleared and a very amused Teenager was left behind.

"NICE TRY YOU STUPID WANKERS! I EAT M203 GRENADES FOR FUCKING BREAKFAST!" Michael yelled.

The next thing Joel heard was screaming.

Michael grinned. "Actually, M203's are snacks. I generally prefer Napalm." He said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

**A/N: I know this is short, but I needed to fire something out, and I just wrote this down. Next Chapter will be through Michael's POV. And will be at Bills. Michael and Bill meeting each other? That will be fun to write. Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

Michael was not sure what to think.

First there was Joel, who was built like a shit house. And then there was Ellie, who had to be more of a tomboy than even Anna was.

And Anna was not one to paint her nails or wear makeup. What was more was that Ellie and his old girlfriend bore a remarkable resemblance. It was a resemblance that freaked him out.

And freaking Michael James Diego out was no small or easy task.

She had probably been dead since the initial outbreak. He never saw her since that godforsaken night. _Enough of those thoughts_, _Michael thought, think of something else, before you start having flashbacks again..._ "Ellie, you mentioned you were in a Military Boarding School?" Michael casually asked as they walked.

"Fuck yeah, worst place in the damn world!" Ellie groaned.

"No. It's not. You lived in heaven compared to where I've been." Michael said. Ellie stopped in her tracks and turned on him. Joel also stopped, looking at the new standoff.

"I lived in heaven? I woke up at 5:00 in the fucking morning, every morning, and did Military Drills on how to kill people, I ate gruel that tasted like dog shit for breakfast, then I did more drills! All fucking day long! And what did you do all my fucking life?" Ellie demanded.

Michael glared at her so hard she actually shrunk back. "What did I do? Ill tell ya, you fucking tomboy. I traveled across the country, killing more infected and people than you can fathom while trying to find someone I deeply cared for. But when you were probably 6 or 7, I opened my fucking eyes and realized that she was probably dead, and after that? I tried to kill myself. As you can clearly see, that plan failed miserably. Then, I discovered that over time, more and more infected were popping up, causing me to fear that one day I would come across her infected corpse." He growled. "I fought through hell and back before you were even conceived. In New York, I took on creatures that make Clickers look like puppies, Runners look like children's toys, and FEDRA? Fuck, FEDRA was NOTHING compared to a fucking Goliath. So as I said. You've lived in heaven for 14 years, while for almost 25 years I've been through HELL. You will never speak to me like that again or so help me, Ellie, I will cut out your heart, Humanities last hope or not! Am I clear?" Michael's tone was venomous, and he meant that threat.

Ellie didn't speak. She didn't dare. She just nodded. Michael could see the fear in her eyes, and he sighed, now feeling more depressed then angry.

"Look Ellie, I've got no doubt that you've been through hard times. But you don't know what I've been through. And honestly? I don't want you to know because if you did, I have no doubt you would go insane from the magnitude of it. Believe me, it was fucking horrific. I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. We cool?" Michael offered Ellie his hand to shake. Ellie looked shocked. But she took his hand and shook it. "Good. Now, lead the way Joel." Michael growled as he walked past the confused Girl.

They walked for another hour before they came across a water tower that said "Lincoln".

"We're here." Joel said.

"This is it? Bloody hell, it's hardly anything to brag about." Michael laughed.

"Maybe not, but it's where Bill lives. Michael, I'm gonna have to ask you not to use your... Abilities in here, Bill ain't exactly the friendliest of all folks." Joel said.

"Do you honestly think that I can't protect myself? I once threw a Bloater so hard into a concrete wall that I am willing to bet my life there is still an impression in the rock. I punched a Clicker so hard I broke it's neck once. So a guy named Bill won't do jack shit to me!" Michael laughed.

"What's a Bloater?" Ellie asked.

"It's a type of infected that's been so for a long time. 5-10 years, I think." Michael replied.

"How many of them have you seen before?" Ellie asked.

"7 or 8." Michael replied. "I haven't seen more then 2 in one place before."

As they were talking, they came across a gate that entered the town. Ellie approached it and tried to open it, to no success. "Fuck, it's blocked from the other side!" She said.

"Looks like I'll have to boost ya." Joel commented.

Michael huffed. "That will not be necessary. Watch this." Without another word he crouched, his legs being surrounded by swirling biomass, before he jumped and soared at least a hundred feet over Joel and Ellie's heads, both of their jaws slack, before he landed on the other side of the gate. He calmly walked over the the gate, unlatched it, and opened it saying "Voila." Then, he pushed up their jaws with each of his hands.

"How the fuck..." Ellie began, before shaking her head and changing her mind.

"Lets just get a move on, we're almost home free." Joel said.

"If you say so, honestly, I think this 'Bill' character is insane for locking himself in such a small country town." Michael said. "Primarily because all humans require social interaction with at least one other individual in order to properly maintain their sanity."

Joel nor Ellie replied. As they explored the small town they came across an alleyway, to their left was a wire stretching the gap. "I wonder what that-" Michael began before a clicker stumbled out of nowhere, it's foot hitting the wire. What resulted was a large explosion, followed by Michael's cackling. "Oh, Bloody Hell! What was that?" He asked, still laughing.

"That, was one of Bill's traps." Joel replied, disturbed by the Evolved's laughing.

"Oh my god, that was amazing! I wonder what that would have done with a pound or two of C4? Or even better, Semtax?" The Evolved asked himself, before continuing walking.

They ran across more traps, of which Michael volunteered to defuse each and every one.

When he did so he carefully disposed of them. Eventually they entered what appeared to be a storage building, when suddenly Joel's foot was caught in, Michael had to admit, a very clever counterweight trap. He could not have done better himself.

In the meantime, Ellie was attempting to cut down the refrigerator that acted as the counterweight. Michael stood near her, keeping an eye out for infected. He decided to use an ability that he hadn't used in nearly 15 years; Thermal Vision. While he possessed the ability to use Thermal Vision, he rarely used it, the reason being that the Infected had little to no heat within their bodies, making it impossible to see them through that method. But he wasn't using it to see infected, he was using it to try and see if he couldn't spot the man named "Bill" who had set such ingenious traps. Suddenly his enhanced hearing caught the sound of some very unwelcome guests arriving. Infected.

"We've got company!" He warned the two of them. No sooner then when he said those words and switched his vision back to normal a runner stumbled into the room and attempted to kill Ellie, only to meet Michael's fists and foot in three swift punches to the stomach, chin, and cheek, all before a brutal spinning kick to its neck, it didn't even get close to her, as it smashed through a nearby window before rolling on the ground and coming to a stop, motionless. He was certain that impact broke it's neck and spine.

"Cut him down! I'll cover you!" Michael ordered his female Ally as more infected ran in. Michael prepared himself, and lunged.

After that, his surroundings became irrelevant, and the only thing that mattered was keeping Ellie and Joel alive. He attacked with only his bare hands and feet, using Martial Arts skills from the thousands he had consumed over time to keep the Infected from Ellie after Joel was suddenly moved higher up, leaving him safe, but Ellie in grave danger, eventually, Michael knew, they would be overwhelmed. That was when Joel fell to the ground and a mysterious man, who was unbelievably fat, wielding two machetes, was hacking through the infected beside him. Since he wasn't trying to kill Joel, Michael decided to dub him "Fatass" for now.

"Follow me!" Fatass yelled as he took off running towards an Alleyway with a door at the end. Michael grabbed Ellie by the neck of her shirt and shoved her toward Fatass, punching a runner that got too close in the face. Before taking off himself. Joel was behind them as they ran to the door.

As they entered the room, Fatass slammed and locked the door behind him. They could hear the infected pounding on the door from the other end. Michael watched as Fatass turned towards Ellie, who said.

"You must be Bill." Bill, who Michael thought he would keep calling Fatass, turned toward her. "Ellie." The teenager said, extending her hand.

What happened next pissed Michael off. Bill grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his belt and handcuffed her to a pipe, he turned toward Michael, reaching for another pair while approaching him.

"Touch me with those, and your head is going up the nearest Clicker's ass!" Michael growled.

"Bill, Stop!" Joel said.

Bill turned toward Joel and forced him to the ground. "You bit? You got anything sproutin' from you?" Bill demanded. "No, damn it, I'm clean!" Joel snapped.

Michael was almost ready to use his claws and rip Bill's head off, before Ellie was able to pull the pipe she was handcuffed to out of the wall, before running over and hitting Bill on the arm with it, resulting in Bill yelling in pain. Michael looked at her with respect and amusement. "You've got one big pair of balls for a girl." He said with a laugh. Michael would swear for years to come she blushed slightly, before saying "Thanks." In return.

"Damn it! You fucking bitch!" Bill yelled as he grasped his arm.

"Like you're one to talk, you fat fuck." Michael replied.

"Michael, Ellie, enough!" Joel snapped.

Michael simply glared at the old man and zoned out while he and Bill talked, he wasn't out enough, however, that he wasn't able to hear about a military truck with a possible working battery being in Lincoln high school. And how Bill wanted to visit an "Armory" before they moved toward the school. One thing was certain as they walked out of that small room from the other side.

Michael James Diego was pissed, and ready to kill something big and tough.

**A/N: I apologize for the big Delay, but life bitch slapped me and forced me to deal with some things ahead of this. Trust me, more chapters are coming. And to those of you who are gonna cry "Poma, Thermal Vision in Prototype is useless!". No, its not if its been enhanced by age and experience over time, his Thermal Vision is so good that... Oops, almost slipped, you'll just have to find out! Until next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

As they walked through Bill's town, Michael was ready to explode. He was so bored, he was thinking about ripping off Bill's head, consuming the body, and keeping the head as a trophy.

Until they finally, FINALLY reached the Armory.

Bill closed the door behind him, after Michael, Ellie, and Joel went through. Michael was already zoned out by then, thinking about what Bill might do if he started digging through the mans things, when he heard the man yell "HEY!"

Michael turned and saw Ellie rummaging through a collection of large stacks of magazines, books, and comics.

"What did I say?" Bill snapped.

"I was just fixing your stupid pile!" Ellie retorted.

"Don't touch!" Bill said.

Michael didn't like it when people yelled at his acquaintances, so he spoke up. "Oi, Fatass, from the looks of it you could spare some of those books, along with some food." He watched with amusement as Bill's face scrunched up with hatred before replying.

"You listen here you little shit." The man made a huge mistake just then. He pushed Michael to the wall.

Before Joel or Ellie could blink, protest, or even acknowledge what had happened, Michael had Bill pinned against the wall with his blade to the obese man's throat.

"No, YOU listen here, you piece of excrement. You're going to get us something that runs, you're going to do it WITHOUT insulting me, or Ellie, or Joel again, and you will do so quickly. Or I swear, God AND Satan both as my witnesses I will tear you apart limb from limb until I think you've suffered enough for me to consume you. Finally, I'll say this once, Bill, and I hope it's understood, do not touch me again or your face will be having a very unpleasant meeting with a Clicker's mouth. Clear?"

For a moment, Bill was silent with a look of shock, fear, and amazement, before he said in a small, afraid voice. "Clear."

Michael gave the man a wicked glare before dropping him and shifting his arm back to normal.

Bill stumbled away from him and went to a table and picked a shotgun, Michael braced himself, but Bill just handed the Shotgun to Joel and then led him over to a table to a device that looked like it came out of a horror film.

Michael didn't listen in too much, but what he did hear was that those were explosive devices, which he was immensely interested in. Soon after ward Bill opened another door and walked out.

Michael saw, out of the corner of his eye, Ellie grabbing some Comics and Magazines and pushing them into her backpack. Michael gave her a shake of his head in mock disapproval, before snatching a few for himself, he placed them into a large pocket in his jacket that he literally just created, before following her.

Within moments they reached a house, in which, through Michael's enhanced hearing, they were informed of infected being inside.

"I can deal with them." Michael said. "I've done it before, if they bite me? I'll be fine. If they bite any of you three? You're dead."

"Your funeral buddy." Bill replied.

Michael snickered, before moving in.

He walked casually toward the closest Clicker, that screeched as soon as it heard him and tried to charge, only to be sliced in half by his blade before it could bite him. He consumed it and moved on. Several more Clickers and Runners attacked him, of whom he disposed of easily.

Exterior secure, interior still to go. The evolved thought as he made his way inside. There were ten of the overgrown mushrooms in there, and they all wanted dinner, one thing he knew was that he was not on the menu, not today. He sliced through half of them in a matter of seconds, and he consumed the closest one to him afterwards for good measure.

That was a big mistake.

Suddenly, he felt like his entire body was collapsing in on itself. He grasped his head and kneeled as the Surviving Clickers surrounded him. As they started to bite and feast on him he heard footsteps entering the room.

And suddenly, he couldn't feel the Clickers' bites anymore. In fact, he felt like he weighed another 60 pounds. Eventually he got sick of the clicking noises from his Infected assailants and he buried his claws into the nearest ones chest before ripping it to pieces. He then moved on to its companions in a ferocious frenzy. Once he was finished he turned towards the group, to find that Bill and Joel were both aiming weapons at him.

"Why are you aiming those at me? I told you I don't like being shot at!" Michael growled.

"Michael? That's still you?" Joel asked cautiously.

"No, it's Justin Bieber on his way to another concert! OF COURSE ITS ME!" Michael snapped.

"You might want to look at yourself." Joel said. "Just trust me."

Michael did as instructed and he yelped.

He was covered in some type of reflective black plating, as far as he could tell from looking down, he was covered from head to toe in it. The armor itself was extremely intimidating, even to him, and had an overall badass look about it. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.

"Oh... Hell yes!" He laughed, delighted. He looked at them. "I don't know what you people think..."

He experimented on shifting back to his normal appearance and shifting back into the armor.

"But I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this..." He finished.

"How did that happen?" Ellie asked. "How did you... Change?"

"I have two theories. One: I was in mortal peril, and my strains of BlackLight mutated to save me. Or two: The Clicker I consumed had a new strain of BlackLight that forced me to mutate." Michael said in interest.

"Wait, what the hell is BlackLight?!" Bill snapped.

Michael sighed and explained what the Virus, and thus he, was.

"So... You're a virus?" Bill asked.

"Either that or I am the incarnation of it, yes." Michael replied.

"So if that Clicker bit someone before you consumed it, could it have infected them with BlackLight?" Bill asked.

Michael considered it. "Maybe. The virus may have been dormant in that Clicker because of how long it's been since the cure to BlackLight's been made." He replied.

"There's a cure?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, called WhiteLight. At first Mercer sabotaged it, but after he died, it became effective and helped eradicate the virus. Except for me." Michael said. "I would love to stay here and chat, but don't we have a military car battery to obtain?" He asked.

Michael then turned on his heel and walked out of the house.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I normally do not respond to reviews, but I'll make an exception to say this to the last Guest reviewer who disrespected the hardworking men and women of Activision and Rad(I)cal Entertainment: You may not have liked Prototype 2, but I did and therefore it will count in this story. If you don't like it, then I have a suggestion for you: STOP READING THE STORY AND READ SOMETHING YOU DO LIKE! Also, I have read through the entire story and I do not recall reading or even writing Michael needing to punch ANYTHING seven times to kill it so far. And finally, Michael was infected by Mercer himself, so he has the primary strain of Blacklight. Basically, next time you give a review; read the story more carefully and avoid exaggerating. It's a childish thing to do. /End rant.**

**Sorry, guys. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.**

Ellie was amazed.

Normally, it was easy to amaze her, But not to the degree of which she was.

Michael was several things in one: A historian, a tank, and even a cool guy to hang out with.

On the nights before they reached Bill's, while she and Joel ate, she often asked him questions about pre-infection life, of which he would answer, normally. There was the occasional question that he either refused to answer or just flat out ignored. She hated it when he did that.

But when she and Michael got into that fight outside of Bill's town, she realized that she had no idea what the Evolved had been through, and whatever it had been, it wasn't pretty. She expected for him to stay furious, so it shocked her when he apologized and asked if they were still good. From then on Ellie vowed to never piss Michael off again.

Then Bill came along, she hated Bill, hence the reason why when he handcuffed her to a pipe she pulled the pipe out of the wall and hit him with it.

But it absolutely flabbergasted her when Michael told her that she had "one big pair of balls for a girl.". Her cheeks felt hot, and she knew she was blushing.

Then, when she stole some of Bill's crap, she noticed that Michael pretended to be disappointed in her before grabbing some for himself.

She was really starting to like him.

And then he grew some type of armor.

And started to shrug off clickers like they were annoying Mosquitos, runners like they were nothing, and stalkers like they were feathers.

Needless to say, she really liked Michael and his stories.

But she had yet to see a 'Bloater' as Michael and Joel had talked about.

Until they reached the High School Auditorium.

When the Bloater appeared, Ellie nearly crapped herself. It was massive, and covered by the fungus in some type of armor.

"Bloater!" Bill yelled as he ducked behind cover, Joel doing the same, and Ellie behind him. Michael, however, just stood there like a sitting duck.

"MICHAEL, GET DOWN!" Joel yelled.

"And miss a challenge like this? Are you out of your _fucking mind? _I'm taking that fucker on!" Michael laughed, before Ellie saw him don his armor, his blade on his left arm, and his whip fist on the right, before he charged the infected behemoth.

Ellie would like to say that she took what happened next well. In reality, what happened next took her several hours afterwards to even begin to process, because what Michael did should not have even been _possible_.

Because Michael handed the Bloater it's own ass _on a silver platter._

As the Bloater threw a sack of spores at him, he used his whip fist as a grappling hook to grab it and toss it right back at the monster, it hit the Bloater straight in the face, stunning it for several seconds.

Which, it appeared to Ellie, was all the time the Evolved needed. He ran, jumped, then landed on the Bloater's back like a piggy back ride and began to brutally slash at its head while the infected tried to throw him off. The Bloater was able to grab him and throw him off, eventually, and Ellie watched as Michael flew and crashed directly into a wall.

In a split second the Evolved pulled himself out of the hole and Ellie heard him say. "Oohh, a feisty one! This'll be fun!" Before charging the Bloater a second time. The Bloater threw another spore bomb at him, which the evolved dodged, before slashing at the Infected's throat. The Bloater met the slash with its hands, and it grabbed onto the Evolved's blade and stopped it in mid air.

For several seconds, it seemed to be a standoff as neither could overpower the other. Until Ellie heard Michael start to laugh. "Surprise Mother Fucker!" He said before his foot made a collision with the Bloater's head, knocking it away from him. The Bloater crashed into the double doors of the auditorium and laid down dead, it's head bent back at a 90 degree angle.

Ellie watched as Michael brushed dust off of his leather jacket, he then turned to her and the others and said.

"Bloaters dead. Now let's go get that car battery."

**A/N 2: I know, short. But I need to get something out didn't I? Thank you for reading and be sure to Follow, Favorite, and Review! **


	10. Chapter 10

Joel hated this world.

He _really, really_ hated it. He hated his rotten luck worse. He ran away from the Clickers and Runners with Ellie and Bill right at his heels. Michael? Michael was busy taking another route. The rooftops. The evolved was running amongst them like some type of super soldier.

Then again, Michael kind of was just that. A super soldier.

"God damn it!" Joel swore.

"Obviously someone had the same idea. The truck batteries bust. Any new plans mr. Fatass?" Michael asked from the roof of a nearby building.

"Call me that again and I'm going to-" Bill never finished that sentence, because a Clicker grabbed him and would have bitten him, If it hadn't been for Michael's "Whipfist" cutting it in half.

"Thanks..." Bill grumbled.

"No problem." Michael casually replied. "Now, you guys run toward that house. I'll handle our infected friends here." He instructed.

"what are you going to do?!" Ellie asked.

"Something incredibly stupid but hell, I've always wanted to try it. Run!" He yelled.

Joel and the others were at the house in 10 seconds flat. Joel forced the door open and held it so for just enough time for the other two to get in before slamming it shut. He then looked out the window.

His jaw dropped.

Michael was holding a backpack full of something that was grey and looked like putty, Joel recognized it a split second before Bill or Ellie did: C4.

He grabbed them both and pulled them down so quickly Ellie's head hit the window ledge. But before she could vocalize her pain, there was a sound that Joel could only describe as a thousand sonic booms going off at once a split second before every window in the house shattered and glass went flying. The shockwave came afterwards and nearly blew him over.

By the time the explosion passed, his ears were ringing. They continued to do so for what felt like an eternity. When they finally stopped he looked out the window. There was a Crater in the Concrete nearly 10 feet deep. In the center of it was a steaming black mass that was Michael James Diego.

Joel was certain he was dead.

Just when he was about to look away he saw already black and red tendrils grabbing infected corpses and dragging them into the abyss.

Did this kid _never_ die?

Soon Michael was standing in the middle of the road, the craziest grin on his face, he walked toward the building, entered it (completely ignoring Joel.) and said 3 words.

"That was awesome!"

Joel felt like exploding. "Damn it Michael, you probably attracted half the state to us because of that!" He growled.

Michael looked at him. "People heard that from 5,277 square miles away? I doubt that." He said simply.

"You could have gotten us killed!" Joel continued.

"The building shielded you from the blast, and the swelling around Ellie's eye (which is bleeding by the way) should go down in about 2 hours. Look on the bright side, Joel. No more infected!" Michael said with a grin.

Joel felt like he had just been slapped. "Do you think this is some game, Michael? Do you think we're your goddamn puppets?" He demanded.

"Nope. Just entertainment and company." Michael replied.

"Is that why you're here? To entertain yourself?" Joel demanded.

Michael looked the man right in the eye and replied.

"No, I'm here to ensure you reach the fireflies safely."


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, it's not pretty, but I think it'll drive." Michael said as he examined the insides of the truck.

Joel and the others had discovered that the house they were in turned out to have a truck Inside that contained their missing car battery.

"You sure?" Joel asked.

"Well, the engines banged up to hell, but it should last." He said

"What are we supposed to do if it doesn't?" Ellie asked.

"I have no fucking clue." Michael said as he closed the hood. "But it sure beats this hell hole." He turned to Bill. "And that, Fatass, is how you fix an engine." He pat the man on the back before getting into the back of the truck and crossing his legs, feet on the tailgate and head on the cabin.

Joel turned to Bill. "Now we're even." He said.

"Right, now just get the fuck outta my town." Bill growled, shaking the Texans hand.

One hour later the pickup truck roared down the highway with Michael lying in the bed, while Ellie and Joel were in the cabin. The back window to it was broken so they could easily speak with Michael if they needed to. They heard Michael start to sing.

"_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Early in the morning!_

_What will we do with a drunken sailor,_

_What will we do with a drunken sailor._

_What will we do with a drunken sailor,_

_Early in the morning?_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Early in the morning!_

_Put 'em in the scuppers with a hose pipe on him,_

_Put 'em in the scuppers with a hose pipe on him,_

_Put 'em in the scuppers with a hose pipe on him,_

_Early in the morning!_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Early in the morning!_

_Put him in the brig until he's sober,_

_Put him in the brig until he's sober,_

_Put him in the brig until he's sober,_

_Early in the morning!_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Weigh-hay and up she rises_

_Early in the morning!_"

Joel shook his head with a small smile while Ellie looked at him. "What the hell did he just sing?"

Joel couldn't help but chuckle. "Just an old song, get some sleep."

Just before Ellie closed her eyes she saw, for a split second, a really tall guy in a suit with no face in the trees as they were driving by. When she leaned to get a closer look, it was gone.

**A/N: This was only meant to get them outta Bill's town and into Pittsburgh. And in case you are wondering, Michael singing "Drunken Sailor" is public domain and is a reference to Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag. And no, the Slenderman won't make another appearance in this story. Just a nod to his direction. Last thing: Updates will be more scattered because Life is bitch slapping me and I need to do some stuff, so in advance, sorry. Review and Follow!**


	12. Chapter 12

Michael was having legitimate _fun_.

Of course, not everyone views chasing after a jeep armed with a fifty caliber machine gun "fun". But he was having a _blast_. This jeep was no problem.

Hell, he could target a streamlined helicopter with a highly trained pilot inside and knock it clean out of the air. And then pounce off of its burning wreck and launch his claws into its partner, if it had one, and tear through the armor like it was paper. Was he afraid of some jeep with a Fifty Caliber MG up top? _Fuck_ no. Amused by it? Definitely.

He chased after it with no intent of letting his prey escape.

**-several hours prior-**

"I must say, it would appear we are stuck." Michael said as they stopped on the highway. in front of them was a full roadblock, dozens of rusted cars mixed with concrete barriers. "If you'd like I can toss some of this out of the way." He offered.

Joel shook his head. "Too noisy, we need somethin' quieter." He said.

"Your loss, mate. Only other way I see is going into the city." Michael said.

"What could be so bad about that?" Ellie asked.

Joel and Michael both looked at each other. Immediately both of them knew by looking into each others eyes what could be "so bad" in that city.

"Last I heard, some group of people led by some maniac was livin' here. Ain't that right Michael?" Joel asked.

"Yup. Don't know his name or face, but I've heard a thing or two." Michael replied.

"Do you know what we have to do?" Joel asked.

Michael looked the man in the eye and smiled. "Go in Pittsburgh and pay the crazy shithead a visit?" He asked.

Joel only nodded.

"Great. Then turn this truck to the exit and let's see some hunters ." Michael said.

"If it goes south and we get separated, where do we meet?" Ellie asked.

"There's a really fancy hotel down the road." Michael calmly replied.

"You've been here before, Michael?" Joel asked.

"Aye. Let's just say that when I left, there was a war zone instead of a QZ here." Michael said.

"How long ago was that?" Ellie asked.

"7 years ago." Michael said.

"Enough chit-chat, both of you get in the truck." Joel ordered.

Michael and Ellie did so without protest, Michael silently thinking _If there are still firefly remnants in this city since I was last here, this journey could be at an early end._

Joel started to move the truck into the city, after a few minutes they saw a man in the middle of the road clutching his abdomen, screaming for help.

"Joel, dead ahead." Michael warned. "A faker."

"I see him. Buckle up, Ellie." Joel ordered.

A second after the teenager did as she was told, Joel hit the accelerator. The truck sped toward the man, who yelled "Oh shit, NOW!" And pulled a pistol and started firing. Soon a few dozen people appeared and started throwing bottles, bricks, molotovs, and shooting at the truck. Eventually Michael spotted a tramcar being dislodged and moving toward them down hill. He only had time to yell "Heads up!"

Before it hit the truck right on the side.

But when this happened, Michael was no longer in the bed of the truck. He was 50 in the air, his armor and blade being shifted as he prepared for combat.

As one might expect, the Hunters reaction to a homicidal, psychotic, and sociopathic biological weapon landing in their midst and ripping them apart was less than calm. The better word for it is Pandemonium. The hunters started screaming almost immediately to focus fire on him. Not that it really mattered, all they had were pistols, shotguns, and perhaps the occasional semi-auto rifle. After Michael was finished killing the 16th man in a row, he noticed another Hunter.

On top of Ellie.

_Choking_ her.

He went into action the instant the image fully processed in his head, which took only a fraction of a second. By the time he reached her, the Hunter on top of her had been ripped in half and left to die 10 feet away.

"Up you get princess, and get behind cover!" He snapped as he shoved Ellie behind a counter, which turned out to also be Joel's choice of cover. Michael turned back toward the Hunter's firing on them.

And he lunged.

**A/N: I added in the future bit to have you guys guess at what's gonna happen when Michael catches that jeep! Who knows? Michael is a sinister thing! Also, I am looking for a female OC in a special project related to this story. If you're interested, PM me for more details!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: BE WARNED. This contains a graphic, descriptive murder. Mature readers only You have been warned.**

"Imagine you were dying. Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the Devil himself. Hello. I'm Michael."

The man looked up at the evolved in pure horror as he was being dangled by his ankle by Michael's Whipfist. Ellie was having an arm wound being bandaged up by Joel nearby and was watching in both fascination and horror.

"Now, Me and my friends have some questions for you. If you be a good boy and answer them, I'll make your death quick. You don't, and I get to have fun. Ok?"

"OK! OK! PLEASE JUST DON'T KILL ME!" The man screamed.

"Be quieter, you'll attract clickers, and if they come I'll leave you here for supper." Michael replied calmly.

The man immediately shut his mouth.

"Now. Groups like you rarely operate without a higher authority. So my first question is: Who is your leader?" Michael asked.

"A guy named Lee. His name is Lee Riverr." The man replied.

"Where is he now?" Michael asked.

"Probably in the police station near downtown. Has a Jeep with a up top in front. Can't miss it." The man said.

"_A what_?" Joel asked, looking like he just had a stroke.

"A mounted Jeep." The man said with a grin, before the spiked tendril tightened around his leg and he yelled in pain.

"No problem for me. Anything else this 'Lee' has?" Michael asked.

"Not that I can-AH!" The man yelped again while the tendril tightened, it's spikes going in deeper.

"You're lying." Michael said in a Sing-Song voice.

"Ok, fine! He has some girls. Pets he's collected over the past few years!" The man said.

Michael grabbed the man by the back of his head so fast and silently that only Ellie and the man, both looking right at him, even knew he moved. Joel was too busy stitching Ellie up to be looking at the evolved. But the old Texan tensed up as though he sensed the anger coming off of Michael.

And let me tell you: it was _a lot_.

The evolved asked a single question afterwards. A question in a voice that was _dangerously_ smooth and calm.

"He has what?"

And from that moment the man realized that he was going to die. And the way Michael would kill him would not be pleasant.

"He has girls he uses as toys. He rapes them, tortures them, and after he's bored with them, he kills them." The man said.

The man said nothing more. For at that moment a sharpened tendril came out of Michael's back and poked against the mans neck for a split second. Before it dove in, going clean through the man's air pipe and plunging down into his chest, while the man convulsed and gagged, unable to get away, as blood and spinal fluid gushed out of him. Seconds later the tendril suddenly stopped and apparently grabbed something and started to strain.

Suddenly the tendril came out of the man's throat, and when Ellie and Joel saw it was holding, they nearly vomited.

The man's heart had been ripped clean out of his chest, up his throat, and out of his body into Michael's waiting hand. The man slumped over dead while the evolved gripped the major organ. He examined it for a moment before dropping the corpse and consuming the heart itself.

Afterwards he saw images of girls, young girls Ellie's age or even younger, being mercilessly raped, tortured, and murdered. All by a man with caucasian skin, dirty and cut. His hair a short brown, filth rotting through it. His eyes a vibrant hue of blue and green. His mouth constantly curled up into a grin or sadistic smile.

It sickened Michael down to his core. And as he looked up from the ground, he said aloud.

"I have walked on this earth for 40 years. In that time I have seen my fair share of brutality and cruelty done by mankind. But what Lee Riverr has done exceeds what all others have done by far. And that is the reason that I shall hunt him down-"

The evolved paused, looking ahead with a murderous glint in his eyes that if anyone were looking into them, would send chills down their spines.

"-and I will rip him apart, limb from limb."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: There is something I should tell some of you guys. Michael is in no way a hero. Sure, he might do heroic things here and there. But essentially speaking: he is an antihero. He doesn't care about most people and he actually takes pleasure in killing and torturing those who are as (or more) demented than he is. He is a sociopath, plain and simple. **

**A/N 2: I know guys. A: This is short. And B: I'm breaking my oath. But we know what happened to Joel and Ellie in Pittsburgh, so I'm gonna tell what happened to Michael for almost the whole thing. References will be in this chapter. My life is very busy right now and I don't have much time to do these so they will be less frequent.**

Michael left Joel and Ellie at the store. Beforehand, he had told them he would see them when they needed him the most, he gave them both his word.

And he was a man of his word.

As he ran up the nearest building to get a decent view, he thought about what the man had said. Girls kept for toys. He thought mankind would run out of ways to make him sick, but hello again. This took the cake so far.

When he reached the top, he analyzed his options down to three:

•Go for the police station and scare the man out, than kill him.

•Lure the man out into the open by publicly attacking his territory so he comes out, than kill him.

•Trick the man into thinking Michael was joining him.

Michael chose option 2. The evolved changed his outfit to a black coat with a zipper and silver buttons over it going down the midsection with two button pockets on each breast and a grey hood at the top, camouflage cargo jeans, steel tipped boots, and a silver ring.

The evolved than looked around and spotted a Jeep driving down a road with a gun up top, this should be easy.

He lunged toward it.


	15. Chapter 15

The Evolved had been chasing after this jeep for 2 hours now. It was getting dark, but they still hadn't even gone back to their base.

Were they normally this stupid?

As he observed them, he noticed they were looking for someone or something. He was almost certain it was Ellie and Joel these people were looking for. But one could never be too sure. He decided to track Joel and Ellie's DNA to find out where they were.

4 nights earlier, Michael had plucked a hair from both Ellie and Joel and consumed the strands for the dried blood on the roots so he could use the DNA within it to track the two wherever they went. They were fast asleep when it happened and while Ellie mumbled something along the lines of "Fucking drills drive me crazy..." And rolled over in her sleep, nothing else eventful happened that night.

When Michael's vision changed to only show those that the DNA matched in a glowing red outline, he saw the two apparently hiding from the truck a few thousand feet away. They were sitting ducks.

That wouldn't be a problem for much longer.

He decided to ambush it when it turned the corner. He switched his vision back to normal and jumped to another building. He then waited for his prey to make the fatal mistake that would spell its doom.

The moment it turned to the corner, Michael lunged, Blade and Armor already formed. It took the jeep three seconds to find out they were under assault, and they sped off with Michael in hot pursuit.

"SHOOT THE FUCK OUTTA THAT THANG!" A southern accent screamed as the jeep sped off with the light machine gun going off on top of it at Michael. No matter how many shots they fired, it didn't slow the Evolved. He kept coming like a freight train for about 300 yards before he decided he'd done enough chasing. Now time for the killing.

When he landed in the Jeep's he wasn't surprised when it suddenly stopped and sent its gunner flying, the passenger got out and trained a revolver at Michael. The driver was still in the truck, but he could be dealt with later.

The Gunner was dead before he could even stand up. Michael made the man headless in seconds. The passenger was a fast shot, but his revolver only fired off two shots before Michael killed him. The driver was struggling to get out of the jeep when Michael's claws shredded him into bits.

With the Jeep out of Hunter hands, Michael inspected it and smiled.

He just found Joel and Ellie their new ride.

The first thing he did was got into the drivers seat and buckled himself in before driving towards Ellie and Joel. Time for a little Practical Joke.

-Ellie POV-

Ellie was scared. Truly, honestly, scared. It was rare for fright to take hold of her this tightly. But as she stood beside Joel as the Jeep cornered them to a Brick wall, she felt like she was going to die.

She closed her eyes and braced herself.

That was when she heard the jeep door open and an all too familiar voice say: "Hello Princess, Cowboy. I got ya a new ride."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Ok, I gotta explain this for an anonymous reviewer. "The Blacklight virus is incapable of crossing large water bodies." That is a DIRECT quote from the game Prototype. Another quote is: "The Virus is unable to survive in water bodies because the liquid interferes with its regenerative abilities." That's why Blacklight is weak against water, since it constantly regenerates, without the regeneration it would die off at a rapid rate. Also, another short one, I know. But School is a bitch and homework is even worse. I'm tryin' ladies and gentlemen, I'm tryin'. Enjoy. **

Michael spent the next thirty seconds of his existence doing two things at once.

A: Resisting the urge to rip Ellie in half and feast on her internal organs.

B: Digging her switchblade out of his eye.

He had to admit, the Boston QZ Military Schools _certainly_ taught a girl how to throw a knife. She had hit him with such precision and accuracy that the 17 Navy Seals he had consumed in his life were giving her their approval and congratulations. If she lived to see the next minute, he would tell her that.

She, at the moment, was cowering behind a dumpster after she had heard him growl so loud it shook the asphalt beneath her feet. He didn't blame her, that had made grown men shit themselves before.

"Ellie... Come out here..." He said in a sing-song, dangerously honey sweet tone. "I got a surprise for you..." He added.

"Now Michael, what you did was cruel and mean, think about that-" Joel said before Michael interrupted.

"Shut up, Cowboy."

Michael kept approaching the dumpster until he got a look at Ellie's switchblade, at that moment, he froze.

It was _exactly_ like the Switchblade he got Anna for her 15th birthday, 25 years ago. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. Was it the sa-No, it couldn't be, that was impossible. It took Michael several seconds to realise Joel was saying his name.

"Yes?" Michael said as he still gripped the switchblade.

"Michael, you look like you just got blindsided by a fuckin' Boeing 747." Joel said. "What's wrong?"

Michael shook off his shock and replied. "Nothing." He then grabbed Ellie by her shirt (with her yelping at how hard he did it.) handed her back her switchblade with a "Never do that again." and shoved an AK-47 into her arms from the Jeep. He then shoved an AA-12 in Joel's hands.

"Michael, you ain't got no business handin' Ellie a gun." Joel objected. Michael glared at the man so fiercely Joel flinched. "Are you sure this is a good time to argue with me Joel?" He asked in that dangerously smooth tone.

Joel shook his head.

"Good. Now, consider those and the Jeep gifts. I still have to find that Lee Riverr bastard and I'm sure that this'll get his attention." Michael told them. "Take the south bridge, it's faster that way. I

Joel nodded while Michael cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, and, stay alive."


	17. Chapter 17

**A\N: Ok, I have to say this. I never expected to get this much support. You people actually enjoy this? I'm shocked, to say the least. I'm just a guy who had an idea and wrote down a chapter and posted it on FF to see what people thought. 60+ followers? I never expected that. 50+ Favorites? "In my dreams!" I thought. And yet, here we are. I just wanted to say thank you, to all of you lads and lasses, who are making this happen and allowing me to continue Michael's story. On my profile there is a poll, asking whether or not I should create a sequel. Vote on it so i can know if you trully enjoy it that much. And finally, i am looking for a fan who can make me a new cover for this story, any ideas are welcome. If you are interested please PM me with the subject labeled "Cover Submission". Thank you all for your astounding support! (****Lee Riverr is property of Littletimmy223. Used with permission.)**

When Lee Riverr heard about what had happened to his scouts, he choked on the smoke from his cigar.

"They were _what_?" He asked the man in front of him.

"Boss, they were not even in one piece! Parts of 'em were fucking everywhere! It looked like Fucking Freddy Krueger went to town on 'em!"

"And the jeep?" He asked.

"Gone. Taken by whatever killed our guys."

_God Fucking Damn it. _Lee thought. _What in the unholy hell could have done th__at? More importantly, how can I get it on my side?_

"Is the Tank fixed up yet?" He asked.

"No sir, Todd says it'll be another week before the tank is operational. He mentioned the engine suddenly failing as a reason for the major delay." The younger man replied nervously

"Fine, tell Johnny and Maxwell to bring out the extra cars and run a searching party. Find me my fucking jeep." Lee growled.

"And what about the... Thing in the city sir?" The man asked.

Lee looked up. "See if you can't get him on our side." He said with a sadistic smile.

* * *

><p>At first, Michael thought the people at that police station had gone insane. Were they actually <em>looking <em>for him?

"Holy shit, and I thought Blackwatch was stupid." He whispered to himself with a smirk as he watched them bring out an SUV and Van from the cover of darkness on the roof of a nearby building.

What did they expect to do with those? Honk him to death? Shit, he thought these people would be a challenge, they did throw FEDRA out after all. The SUV would be a piece of cake, and the Van would be the icing.

Yet to his surprise, they didn't stay. They drove off in separate directions. The Van west, the SUV east.

Ok, so they weren't complete idiots. They sent out messengers to cry for help, maybe? He couldn't afford to find out.

He donned his armor and blade and squatted, biomass surrounding his legs, before he jumped into the air as silently as an owl swooping down upon its prey. As he descended he let loose a scream of anger to gain their attention.

Mission accomplished. They looked up at him and screamed in fear as they scrambled to find cover, but by the time the evolved landed, it was already too late. Rocks, cars, and plant life flew everywhere upon the impact, killing nearly half of the guards before they could even start firing. The ones still alive began firing at him, but were horrified to find that their bullets had no effect on him. Within 45 seconds of his assault and 12 casualties, he sent them running away screaming.

He moved into the Police Station and like a terrier among rats, slaughtered each and every soul that got in his way as he approached their leader. He showed absolutely no signs of faltering, determined to reach the bastard. He was not disappointed. He found out that Lee was inside the office of the Chief of Police. _Oh the irony..._

Michael literally kicked the door off its hinges, before walking in.

"Hello, Lee." He said as though he had known the man for years.

Lee was sitting at the desk in an office chair, dressed in a dirty white T-Shirt under a leather jacket, blue jeans, and black boots, smoking a large cigar, while a large machete was on the desk in front of him. "Oh hoo hoo, look at you. How are you doing that?!" The man laughed.

Michael would have raised an eyebrow if it were still visible. Was this man _excited_? That added to the insanity factor Michael had originally thought. "I'm special, let's just say that." Michael replied.

"No, you're a fucking circus freak, that's what you are. But then again, aren't we all in this damn outbreak?" Lee asked before taking a puff of his cigar.

"No. That would be you. I don't even think a mother could love your face." Michael growled.

Lee chuckled. "Fair point. Look, buddy, I could use a guy like you. Whoever you are working for and whatever your gettin' paid, I can triple it. What do you say?"

Michael stared the man in the eye for a full ten seconds, before laughing his ass off. "I just tried to think like you, but unfortunately I can't seem to shove my head that far up my ass. I work for _no one_, asswipe. You hear me?"

Lee sighed, dropping his cigar and stomping it with his boot to put it out. "So... This is how it's going to be?" He asked as he picked up his machete. "Fine. I could have used you, buddy. I really could have. But now I see you've gotta go down."

Lee and Michael both stared at each other, sizing the other up.

Before they went at it.


	18. Chapter 18

Henry didn't expect to run into a walking WMD, it just happened.

And he wasn't exaggerating either, he literally did run into A blonde WMD on his way to an area (hopefully) safe from the Clicker's persuing him and Sam. At first Henry thought He was another survivor, that thought changed the moment one of the Clicker's bit Him, and instead of the teenager screaming in agony, he just groaned and said. "For the love of God why do you fucks insist on biting me?! Go bite a fucking concrete pole." before breaking it's neck. Then the teenager's hands shifted into some horrifying and sharp claws before he ripped the infected apart limb from limb.

No, Henry didn't expect this at _all_...

So when the Teenager turned to face him with eyes of blue and green like a Kaleidescope, naturally Henry was aiming his pistol at him. Big mistake. The teen looked at it and laughed before his arm shifted into something that resembled a two-pronged fork before it shot out 10 feet and yanked the pistol out of the African-American's hands before returning to his own.

"Any other demonstrations of zero intelligence you want to show me before I kill you?" The teenager asked.

"We don't want any trouble... We're just looking for the Fireflies... How about we just separate and pretend this never happened?" Henry asked, terrified.

"I don't think you're comprehending the situation that you're in." The boy said. "It's hopeless. You're finished. I don't leave witnesses." The claws reappeared.

"Look, I swear we won't tell anyone about you! I swear on my life!" Sam piped up.

Those cold eyes focused on Sam. "Oh, you do? Did you know hundreds of people have done that to me before, only to have lied?"

Henry was about to snap at Sam to be quiet, but before he could, Sam asked. "What will it take to convince you?"

That got the teen's attention. He raised an eyebrow. "Not many people ask me how to gain my trust these days... Congratulations kid, you and your buddy pass." The claws vanished.

"Pass what?" Henry asked, bewildered.

"My test. To see whether or not I should give you the barest trace of trust. I know some people you can travel with. They're looking for the Fireflies too, much to my chagrin..." The boy mumbled that last part. He suddenly straightened up.

"Speak of the devil..." Suddenly glass shattered above them, and a clicker fell from the building nearest them onto the street, it landed with a loud _crunch!_

"Don't ask me what they're doing in there... I gave them a fucking car to go off in... But they're in there..." The Teen pointed up the building. "Tell 'em Michael sent you."

"Michael? That's your name?" Sam asked.

"No, it's Darth Vader!" Michael snapped. "Of course it's my name, you dumbass!"

Sam raised his hands up. "Whoa, I'm sorry, ok? Just makin' sure..."

"Fine... Apology accepted... Now get up there, I've got one more thing I need to do..." Michael said as he stalked off.

Henry looked at Sam, and vice versa. Bother were wondering if this was some sort of dream...

Before they entered the building.

**A/N: Short, I know. But I'm working on two fics now so I have to decide which one to work on and which one can wait. If you are a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, check out my latest story: The Intrigue of Darkness. Starring Ahsoka Tano and another OC of mine. Review, please. I feed on their deliciousness!**


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